E. A Bowles - The Crocus King. April's meeting

If you had not heard of Edward Augustus Bowles at the start of last month’s meeting you certainly knew about this extraordinary man by the end of the evening. Bryan Hewitt spoke passionately about E.A Bowles, a horticulturalist, plantsman, plants hunter and garden writer, who created an important garden at Myddelton House, which was his life long home. 

Bryan is a senior gardener at Myddelton House Gardens, who has been involved with gardening for many years. Bryan explained how E.A Bowles was involved with the RHS for over 50 years and was a life member, he served on 15 committees, was a Council member and Vice-president. Despite the loss of sight in his right eye, E.A Bowles was accomplished artist and was the author of several books. E.A Bowles was especially know for his interest in crocuses and bulbs, and gave his name to some 40 varieties of plants.  

Bryan also told us about the history of Myddelton House Gardens and how the restoration of the gardens was made possible with lottery funding leading to the restored gardens opening in 2011. Bryan consolidated his knowledge in a book called The Crocus King, which is available to buy. Our thanks go to Bryan for a most interesting evening. 

The Fruit and Veg Expert, March's meeting.

I have recently been reading up on fruit trees before buying some for my allotment, but I learnt so much more from Tom Cole’s talk than from the books I was reading, Tom certainly knows about fruit trees. Many members have told me how much they enjoyed Tom’s talk and how informative it was, so many thanks to Tom from all of us.   

Tom is a natural speaker, and keen to answer everyone’s questions, explaining the details of planting, soil care, plant choice and pruning with ease. Tom explained some of the golden rules; apple and pear pruning is from November to February, stone fruit is later from early spring to mid summer to avoid fungal  infection. Tom advised using grease bands on fruit tress in November and again in February to prevent insects climbing (such as the wingless cankerworm)  up the trunk.

During the second half of the talk Tom explain how to get the best out of organic fertilisers and the importance of applying the right amount. Tom also explained that lime, if required, can be applied at the start of the season and not only in the autumn as previously thought.

As a result of the interest and questions Tom received from members he was pushed to cover all of aspects of his talk, however fear not as due to Tom’s popularity we will be inviting him back.